The invention pertains to a connecting device for producing articulated connections between successive panels of a sectional door leaf.
Sectional doors are used as garage doors or industrial gates and are characterized in that, when the door is opened and closed, the sectional door leaf does not pivot outward into the area located in front of the space to be closed by the door. This is achieved in that the door leaf of a sectional door, which can be moved along a path determined by a guide rail arrangement between a closed position, in which it is in an essentially vertical plane, and an open position, in which it is usually in an overhead horizontal plane, consists of a plurality of panels, arranged in a row extending along the predetermined path, these panels being connected to each other by joints with axes which are perpendicular to the predetermined path. These connecting elements which produce the articulated connections between the successive panels are usually designed as hinges, which are attached to the inside surface of the panels of the sectional door leaf, i.e., to the surface facing the interior space of the room to be closed by the sectional door leaf. The hinge flaps are attached by screws to adjacent panels. The rolled parts of the hinge, which make it possible to connect the two flaps pivotably to each other, can be seated at least partially in a recess formed between the adjacent panels, so that they project toward the outer surface of the door leaf. Installing the rolled parts of the hinges in this way makes it easier to avoid the formation of gaps between successive panels when the panels are traveling around the circular arc-shaped section of the predetermined path and thus also offers protection against pinched fingers. In the case of the known sectional door leaves, this type of protection for the fingers is brought about in that a projection formed along the edge of one panel is accepted in a recess formed in the edge of an adjacent panel, i.e., the edge facing the projecting edge of the first panel. These types of sectional door leaves are described in, for example, EP 304 642 A1 and EP 370 376 A1. With respect to the design of the individual panels of a sectional door leaf and to the design of the guide rail arrangement of corresponding sectional doors, the disclosure content of these documents is herewith included in the present specification by explicit reference.
So that the door leaf can be guided between the closed position and the open position, guide elements, usually in the form of rollers, are attached to the successive panels of the sectional door leaf; these rollers cooperate with guide rails, which are installed permanently in the space to be closed, near the lateral edges of the door leaf. These guide elements are usually attached to the connecting elements, which are fastened to the lateral edges of the panels, where the longitudinal axis of the guide element, i.e., the axle of the roller, is more-or-less parallel to the joint axis of the connecting element. To prevent the connecting elements from being overextended and thus the panels from being damaged during the movement of the door leaf between the open position and the closed position, the longitudinal axis of the guide element, i.e., the axle of the roller, is usually located as close as possible to the joint axis of the connecting element. To avoid an unnecessarily large number of components, the carrier element of conventional connecting devices of the type described above, i.e., the element which serves to hold the guide element on the door leaf, is formed by one of the hinge flaps of the connecting element. To this end, the hinge flap is designed with a U-shaped profile, the outer sidepiece of which has a hole, which serves to accept a retaining bolt or the axle of the guide element roller.
As already explained above, it is usually necessary for the longitudinal axis of the guide element, i.e., the axle of the roller, to be near the joint axis of the connecting element. The connecting element, furthermore, is usually attached to the panel in the immediate vicinity of the joint axis. This has the result of minimizing the mechanical loads exerted on the connection between the connecting element and the panel, whereas it is possible at the same time to use the edge of the panel, which is usually reinforced, to achieve a secure attachment of the connecting element. The panel can be reinforced in the area of the edge adjacent to the joint axis by, for example, bending the edge of a sheet-metal panel back upon itself.
When sectional doors are installed with the use of these known connecting devices, the problem arises that, because of the proximity of the guide element to the joint axis, the guide element mounted on the connecting element interferes with access to the fastening elements used to attach the connecting element to the panel, inasmuch as these fastening elements are also in the vicinity of the joint axis. For this reason, the following sequence of steps is usually used to install a conventional sectional door: The first step is to install the guide rails required to guide the movement of the sectional door leaf in the room to be closed by the sectional door. The second step is to attach the connecting elements, designed as hinges, to the upper edge of the panel which is at the bottom when the door is closed. Third, the guide element is attached to the hinge flap which has just been attached to the panel; this flap is designed with a U-shaped profile which serves simultaneously as the carrier for the guide element. Next, the guide elements attached via the carrier element to the panel are threaded into the guide rail arrangement, and the panel together with its guide elements is brought into the position it will occupy when the door is closed. The following panel is prepared in the same way by attaching the connecting elements and the guide elements to the upper edge, and, after the guide elements have been threaded into the guide rail arrangement, the panel is mounted on the previously threaded-in panel in the position it will occupy when the door is closed. The free hinge flaps of the connecting elements attached to the first threaded-in panel can then be attached to the lower edge of the panel which was threaded in next. In this way, the successive panels can be threaded in, one after the other, into the guide rail arrangement and hinged together until the complete door leaf has been assembled.
This installation process is usually very time-consuming, however, and therefore also expensive, because the guide rail arrangement must first be installed without the support of the door leaf, which could have served as an installation aid. As a result, the mounting of the guide rail arrangement requires complicated measuring work, which must be performed with such accuracy that the individual panels of the door leaf will be guided smoothly by the guide rail arrangement both during the installation process and afterwards in normal operation.
Connecting devices for producing articulated connections between successive panels of a sectional door leaf are described in U.S. Pat. No. 223,927 A and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,376,913 A.